Northbound traffic on U.S. Route 13 in Princess Anne came to an abrupt stop yesterday afternoon after a Maryland highway worker was killed when a vehicle struck a marked Maryland Department of Transportation truck. Authorities said the crash happened around 12:40 p.m., and the worker was pronounced dead at the scene as emergency crews shut down the northbound lanes and routed drivers onto detours.
How the state says the crash unfolded
Maryland State Police identified the worker as 70-year-old Dipakkumar Patel of Delmar. According to officials, Patel was inside a marked MDOT vehicle and working on a highway maintenance project when a Dodge Caravan hit the rear of the parked truck. The cause of the collision remains under investigation, as reported by The Baltimore Sun. The driver of the Caravan was identified as 31-year-old Amanda Correa of Salisbury, and both she and a passenger were taken to an area hospital, according to WMDT.
Investigation and road closures
Troopers from the Maryland State Police Princess Anne Barrack and the agency’s crash team are leading the investigation, and officials say the case will be presented to the Office of the State’s Attorney in Somerset County for review, as reported by WMAR2 News. Somerset County EMS pronounced Patel dead at the scene, and crews kept northbound US-13 closed near Revels Neck Road while they documented evidence and removed the vehicles. Maryland Department of Transportation personnel stayed on site to help manage lane closures and detours.
Why it matters
News outlets noted that Patel’s death was the second fatal incident involving a Maryland highway worker in just three days. NBC4 reported that over the weekend, a separate crash on the Capital Beltway killed a 40-year-old worker who had been placing cones at a crash scene. The recent string of deaths has fueled renewed pleas from safety advocates and MDOT for drivers to “slow down, move over” when they approach work zones, a message state officials underscored after the Beltway incident. Investigators in the Princess Anne crash have not released any additional information about fault or potential charges while the crash team continues its work.
